Swarthmore College is a highly selective liberal arts college located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, whose mission combines academic rigor with social responsibility. Swarthmore has a strong institutional commitment to inclusive excellence and nondiscrimination in its educational program and employment practices and encourages candidates who will further advance the goal of fostering a diverse and inclusive community. As one of the nation’s finest institutions of higher learning, Swarthmore College is global in outlook and draws students from around the nation and world. The 425‐acre campus is a designated arboretum, complete with gardens, rolling lawns, a creek, wooded hills, and hiking trails in the Crum Woods.
Who We Are:
The Scott Arboretum & Gardens cultivates a variety of plants that create some of the region’s most intimate, authentic, and accessible horticultural experiences. The idyllic 420-acre Arboretum that makes up the Swarthmore College campus is often named one of the most beautiful in the country. Located just 11 miles from Philadelphia, the rolling hills, flowering trees, and hiking trails offer a nature escape on the edge of a busy metropolis.
The opportunity:
This Senior Horticulturist/ Horticulturist position provides horticultural support for the care and maintenance of the plant collections, gardens and landscaped areas of the Scott Arboretum & Gardens and the entire Swarthmore College campus and properties owned by the College. Tasks performed include general gardening duties and plant collections maintenance; assisting in the maintenance of the Crum Woods and faculty/staff housing properties; program assistance for Scott Arboretum educational programs and volunteer education; co-supervising Horticulturists, volunteers, student workers and summer interns; providing assistance for College events; performing maintenance to keep the campus exteriors safe; providing assistance during weather emergencies, for snow and ice during winter storms, and for other grounds keeping duties; provides educational tours for Arboretum visitors.
There are two levels for this position, based on the education and experience of the final candidates selected as either the Senior Horticulturist or the Horticulturist.
Essential Responsibilities
HORTICULTURAL TASKS
- Maintains the plant collections by performing timely planting, weeding, mulching, pruning, fertilizing, irrigating, leaf raking, and other plant cultural practices with minimal supervision in order to maintain campus aesthetics and provide proper horticultural care. Assists in design modifications as needed to the Arboretum’s landscape and gardens. Assists in plant records and plant curation as needed.
- Maintains specialty garden areas consisting of Glade Garden, Harry Wood Garden, Nason Garden, Pinetum, Pollinators Garden, Singer Hall landscape, Winter Garden, magnolia and holly collections, green roofs, various courtyard gardens and major horticultural collections as the most intensively-maintained gardens on campus.
GROUNDSKEEPING DUTIES
- Keeps campus areas, turf, roads, sidewalks, and patios maintained in an efficient way. Has the ability to prioritize these tasks in order to provide a safe and aesthetically pleasing campus.
- Performs trash removal, irrigation, turf renovation, turf mowing, snow removal, and leaf raking in order to efficiently maintain safety and high horticultural aesthetics on campus.
- Assists with special function set-up and tear-down in order to prepare the facilities in a timely manner for College- and Arboretum-hosted events.
- Is present for and assists in College emergencies, bad weather occurrences, and special College functions in order to maintain campus safety for students, staff, and visitors.
COMMUNITY/EDUCATION SUPPORT
- Develops, leads or assists with Arboretum classes and lectures open to members, the public and volunteers; gives lectures as requested; assists with guided campus tours open to the public.
- Provides horticultural information to the public, members, and volunteers.
- Leads or assists with various educational programs (Arboretum tours, lectures, conferences, sales and events, and Alumni weekend tours) as needed.
- Assists staff with various programs (e.g. evening lectures, Perennials and Woody Conferences, Greens Sales) as needed.
- Lends support when requested to the College’s professors, students and educational departments in their classes and laboratories that utilize the plant collections, gardens, and Crum Woods.
Additional Responsibilities
- Safely and proficiently uses all hand gardening tools and can train others to do the same.
- With proper training, safely and proficiently uses a variety of grounds power equipment and can train others to do the same.
- Conducts educational sessions as requested by the Learning and Engagement staff.
- Occasionally writes articles for the Arboretum's quarterly Hybrid newsletter and contributes to the annual year-in-review report and departmental brochures as necessary.
- Cooperates in the function of the entire Facilities Management Department and assists in meeting the department’s goals.
- Performs other job-related duties as assigned.
Supervisory Responsibilities
- The Senior Horticulturist has co-supervision of 1-2 Horticulturist positions.
- The Senior Horticulturist has daily supervision of 2-7 assigned volunteers, 1-5 student workers, and 1-3 summer interns. The Horticulturist will assist with daily supervision.
Interactive Skills and Who You Are
- Builds successful working relationships with coworkers and supervisors. Projects a positive image of Scott Arboretum & Gardens and of Swarthmore College. Communicates readily and works effectively as a member of a team.
- Works successfully with coworkers, interns, students, and Arboretum volunteers in order to efficiently and effectively accomplish the workload of the department.
- Adapts to new work situations, people, ideas, procedures, and organizational structures, in order to be successful in a constantly changing work environment.
- Exhibits maturity, reliability, composure, and stability under pressure in order to handle on-the-job stresses and challenges.
- Understands and abides by a high standard of professional ethics in order to ensure the integrity of the organization.
- Demonstrates a familiarity with the identification and maintenance of a broad range of trees, shrubs, vines, herbaceous perennials, annuals, and turf grass; has the basic knowledge to provide proper horticultural care in a timely and efficient manner. Demonstrates ability to decide a course of action relative to soils and fertilization. Possesses knowledge of current practices relative to soil care, pruning and planting in order to implement best management practices.
- Demonstrates familiarity with the common diseases, insects, weeds, and cultural problems of landscapes and turf in the mid-Atlantic region in order to make proper decisions for daily maintenance.
- Demonstrates familiarity with sustainable landscape/gardening practices relating to soil and plant health.
- Possesses basic knowledge of restoration processes and maintenance of natural areas such as the Crum Woods, as well as meadows and storm water retention/detention basins.
Physical Demands
- Ability to frequently lift objects weighing up to 50 pounds and possess the physical strength to perform groundskeeping/gardening operations. Ability to carry a 35-pound backpack sprayer for extended periods. Hand, arm, and back strength to shovel, prune, and rake for extended periods of time. Ability to manipulate vibrating, hand-held power machinery for extended times.
- Ability to perform kneeling, bending, squatting motions for extended times. Ability to work from a ladder doing pruning and other plant care. Visual ability to do detailed pruning.
- Ability to read and interpret pesticide labels, machinery safety manuals, and new information related to horticultural practices. Ability to maintain written maintenance records and keep a journal of daily work.
Working Conditions
- Ability to work under harsh weather conditions and perform emergency storm-related damage services is required.
- This is an essential employee position which requires one to be on campus in weather emergencies to support essential campus operations.
- Ability to work occasional scheduled weekends.
- Ability to work outside of regular work hours as needed, or in case of emergency.
- Physical dexterity to perform the job and ability to work outside year-round are necessary.
- High level of productivity; work pace is frequently fast-paced.
- Ability to work with diverse crew, faculty, staff, and volunteers.
Senior Horticulturist
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in horticulture or related discipline; or, practical horticultural training course (two to four year program) plus three to five years of job-related experience.
- Must possess a Pennsylvania pesticide applicator’s license for the appropriate categories in order to legally and safely apply pesticides or organic control materials, or is willing to do so.
- Must possess a valid driver’s license.
- Must be familiar with the operation and maintenance of hand tools and grounds maintenance equipment.
Preferred Qualifications
- Five years or more of gardening/horticulture experience in addition to formal education requirements.
- Experience working in a public garden or college campus setting.
Horiculturist
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in horticulture or related discipline; or, practical horticultural training course (two to four year program) plus one to three years of job-related experience.
Preferred Qualifications
- Three to five years of gardening/horticulture experience in addition to formal education requirements.
- Experience working in a public garden or college campus setting.
What You Will Get:
You’ll work at one of the world's most renowned liberal arts Colleges, with incredible benefits, a stunning 420-acre campus, and a collaborative work environment. Join a team of passionate, creative people who work hard and have fun supporting the College students, faculty, and staff.
We want to hear from you if you are excited about this role! For full consideration, submit applications with an uploaded resume, including a cover letter indicating how your qualifications and experience have prepared you for this position. If you have experience that meets any of the preferred qualifications, please include a detailed explanation of any such experience in your cover letter and how it meets the preferred qualification(s).
The market range for this position is $22.00-$28.00 for Horticulturist and $25.00-$32.00 for Senior Horticulturist per hour, which represents the College’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range at the time of posting. The salary offered is determined based on factors including, but not limited to, experience and education of the final selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information.
PA Criminal Clearance Required
Swarthmore College requires a PA Criminal background check for all staff positions prior to the start of employment.
MVR Clearance Required by Position
Due to operating a College owned motor vehicle while performing essential job responsibilities for this position, a motor vehicle report (MVR) clearance is required prior to the start of employment.
Education Verification Required by Position
An education verification is required for this position because a college degree is a required qualification for this position.
Preview our Benefits Flyer. We offer benefit plans starting at zero cost! Upon benefit eligibility, the College contributes 10% of an employee’s salary to their retirement account. Employees are 100% vested in their accounts on the date participation begins.
2026 Swarthmore Benefits Guidebook
Retirement Plans
Tuition Grant Program
Tuition Reimbursement Program
Paid Time Off (Staff)
Holiday Schedule
Swarthmore College is committed to creating a culture of respect and inclusion so that every member of our community feels a sense of belonging. We actively seek and welcome candidates with diverse perspectives and experiences, exceptional qualifications, and a demonstrable commitment to a more inclusive society and world. Swarthmore College is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate based on any identity or characteristic protected by law or College Policy.
